Old City

Everywhere you go, they like to remind you that St. Augustine is the oldest continuously settled city (by persons of European decent) in the United States.  Several museums and attractions are devoted to things relating to this theme.  Two of them we visited were the Oldest House (at right) and the Oldest Wooden School (below).

The oldest house was built in the middle 1700s by a Spanish family.  During the 20 year occupation of the British in the late 1700s, the second floor was added to this and many other homes.  Admission fee was $5.00 a person and it was pretty interesting.  They do a guided tour through the house and let you walk the grounds (small) and there is also a small museum included also.  It was worth the $10.00 for the two of us to see it.

The oldest wooden school was constructed sometime in the 1800s and is the oldest known original wooden school house left in the United States.  It is somewhat fragile and is chained down in case of hurricane and tropical storm.  This was a really cheap attraction - only about $4.00 for both of us.  It was interesting with animated puppets telling a story of what it was like there.

You also see the separate kitchen and a small landscaped yard.  All paid visitors (not sure there are any other kind) receive a free diploma (it's pretty lame) from the gift shop at the end of the self guided tour.

Thoughts and Recommendations

• Check out some of the "oldest" attractions.  They are part of the history and lore of the city.  You get tired of hearing about the oldest this and oldest that, but at least their city has something to be proud of and a lot longer history than other cities in the U.S. can boast.